Does it make sense for Arsenal to replace Gabriel Jesus and keep Nketiah as a backup?

Mikel Arteta recently confessed that this summer they might have to be ruthless, claiming, “We have a few ideas (about the summer transfer window).

“That is what this team, this club, and our people are demanding—to keep moving forward in a ruthless way because we are not satisfied with where we are.”

That certainly appears to be the case if a claim regarding Gabriel Jesus’ situation at Arsenal is accurate.

Though it remains unclear who it is, it is widely expected that Arsenal will buy a great striker this summer. This transfer will undoubtedly shake up the Arsenal attack, and there are already rumors of departures.

While Eddie Nketiah was extensively linked with a move, the Athletic now says that Gabriel Jesus, whom Mikel Arteta stated “changed Arsenal’s world,” is a man the Gunners will look to split ways with.

Reportedly, Arsenal have a list of players they’re keen to sell this summer, and Gabriel Jesus, according to the Athletic, has now been added to that list. The Brazilian has been unable to regain his initial Arsenal form. In his first few months at the Emirates, he lit up the place, scoring, assisting, and doing everything he could to help the Arsenal attack click. However, his influence declined after he returned from a long-term injury he picked up while representing Brazil at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

That injury sidelined him for at least three months, and its repercussions are that he lost his goal-scoring touch, and while he’s been putting in terrific performances, it doesn’t change the reality that he’s the No. 9 and should be scoring goals.

So far this season, he has only four goals, and players like Havertz and Trossard contributing more goals have truly exposed the Brazilian.

Few Arsenal fans would be surprised if the Athletic reported that he could be sold. I’m guessing most people will have questions, such as whether Eddie Nketiah will stay. Or will both strikers depart, leaving Havertz and the new No. 9 to vie for a starting position?

I personally belive that Arteta should replace Jesus with a top striker, but keep Eddie as a reliable backup in case of emergencies.

What do you think?

Daniel O


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26 Comments

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    1. Dan
      No, Nketiah is not a “reliable” backup. He is too erratic and doesn’t score enough to remain at Arsenal with such high wages.

      If “Ruthless” is the word for this Summer’s business, then Nketiah, Jesus, and Zinchenko will be off, along with Elneny, Partey, Jorghino, Ramsdale, and likely 1 or 2 of ESR, Vieira, and Nelson.

      We have many players that need to be moved on, but the buyers market will determine if we are able to move them on.

      1. It appears that Jorgi is a MA
        favorite and unless Partey is
        tempted by Saudi money I don’t
        see the Ghanian leaving @
        seasons end. Arsenal should
        not be tempted to give him away
        on the cheap.

        I honestly think the following
        players should be put on the
        Block to fundraise for potential
        summer additions:

        Ramsdale
        Zinchenko
        Jesus
        Nelson
        Viera
        ESR
        Niektah
        Patino
        Tierney
        Tavares

    2. Nketiah is gone. He has barely played and Jesus Havsrtz and Trossard ahead as a striker.

      Time fo him to find his level at eg Palace or other mid table team

      Jesus been very unlucky wirh injuries and issue is once players get multiple injuries they never get dully fit so best o cash in .. I would prefer to keep ESR and let the youngster crashing all the goals in for U18s to be told he has a chance

  1. No. Gabriel Jesus – when healthy – is Arsenals best attacking player. True Brazilian Qualities.

  2. of the two i would keep Jesus over Nketiah, mainly for his versatility, CL know how and winning mentality, not goals necessarily

    but i would be happy to see both of them go

    bring in Sesko and promote Berieth and/or Odi-Martin

    take the money and reinvest

  3. Jesus is still a useful backup for me, 8 goals and 7 assists this season with all his injuries. Don’t get me wrong I would love us to upgrade, but it’s just that the other part of me thinks some fans believe he’s a bad player.

  4. In my opinion Nkethiah should be sold he isn’t a proper backup to any CF. As per GJesus, he should be kept if he agrees to play from the wings because of his work rate. But I think he would be sold he is likely to command more fee compared to Nkethiah. Arsenal need to sell to stand a chance of buying a good CF. We also need to stay within FIFA player purchas rules. At least 3 players should be sold.

  5. Eddie Nketiah hasn’t played since G.Jesus returned from Injury and Kai Havertz became our CF

    We must remove sentiments and sell Nketiah. It’s better we break the Bank and sign either of Isak, Gyokeres or Osimhen

  6. Nketiah is gone. There will be a buyer. He gets zero gamete now, his time is up here. Jesus, I’d be fine keeping. If a buyer comes and offers a decent price I’d be fine letting him go, but he’s without a doubt lost his starting spot but can still contribute to the team when needed. Whether he stays or goes, still need a new wide attacker to add more quality and depth.

  7. I’ll prefer we keep Jesus and sell Nketia! A fully fit Jesus is very important to the team regardless of his scoring problems but can he stay fit?

  8. Depends.
    If we are getting a striker and winger in the summer, both Jesus and Nketiah should go. That’s what I’d call ruthless!
    If we are buy only a striker, Nketiah should go so Jesus could also provide cover on the wings.

  9. Sell Jesus and Nketia; Bring in Gyokeres or Sesko (not Isak because of his injury record and price tag).
    Promote Obi especially because we risk losing him. Havertz is also playing 9. So both Jesus and Nketia can be sold. But I really like Jesus. he can also play in the wings.

  10. We do not need a left winger. Let’s get a top quality striker and a right winger to give Saka competition. No matter the quantity of love Arteta has on Nketia, he should please let him go. We need Jesus ft so many reasons.

  11. What make perfect sense to me is that we sell BOTH players and do so ASAP too.
    Neither one is of the standard that improves our squad. REALITY!

  12. Nketiah – sell. Jesus – dunno.

    The article is right that Jesus’ form was superb in his first few months, probably until the first injury? There seem to be two questions over selling him or not:

    1. Would he play on the wings? He was excellent there for City. But then he was also a top goalscorer in his early days there too.

    2. Can he regain the form? If the injuries have taken a toll and his quote about not remembering when he past played without pain is a guide, then he might return to top form (but when?).

    It may not hurt to keep him another season if it doesn’t diminish his value (too near end of contract etc).

    The other factor, is that Arteta says Jesus has transformed the club in many ways. His personality seems to make the squad tick, as a friendly place to be with no egos. Not a good idea to sell that, perhaps?

  13. OUTGOING $ + INCOMING $ –
    RAMSDALE 30 RAYA -33
    PARTEY 25 OLISE -50
    ZINCHENKO 20 MENDY -20
    NKETIAH 30 SESKO -32
    NELSON 10 ZUBIMENDI -50
    TIERNEY 5 ZIRKZEE -60
    LOKONGA 5
    JESUS 30

    90 million spent. Let’s GO!!!!!!

  14. Keep Eddie NKetiah? At £100k/week? Is that a serious question? Has the author seen Eddie play? His scoring edge isn’t even as sharp as the safety scissors they give to kindergartners to make construction paper crafts.

  15. I would prefer to keep Nketiah as a home grown player. When given enough games to play his statistics are not much different from Havertz and Jesus. I think we need to invest in a quality striker which is a very difficult process as it is not easy to get someone who will come and score the number of goals we want from him. IMO we are not short of options at either wing but the coach does not want to use the other players. Firstly he doesn’t interchange Saka and Martinelli. Nelson, Vieira, and Trossard are very capable to deputise on either wing if they are given enough game time.

    ESR is good enough to deputise for Odegaard and if he can be trusted more he gives a more direct approach than our captain. We should avoid making too many changes that may affect the team balance. Even without a high scoring striker we have performed very well. Our biggest challenge from last season is losing games we should be winning with ease. Even if we buy another striker and continue getting stuck against teams like West Ham we will always struggle to win cups. In the league we have disappointed against lower level teams whilst in the cup competitions we have lost against both strong and weak opponents. The way the coach approach some of these games really need to change. We lost against Villa and Bayern whilst a fully fit Partey was sitting on the bench with Havertz in midfield. These two games have really turned our season upside down. We really need a striker to up our level but more importantly our approach to games need to be spot on the whole season as winning big competitions is a game of fine margins.

  16. If we are getting a top striker, sell both and have Havertz deputize the new CF. I think Havertz is currently way better than both. His (Havertz) astronomical wages could probably tempt Arteta to force him into midfield but I hope sense will prevail. I also hope Arteta won’t tinker with the team just to force him in as 330k weekly is too much for a bench player at Arsenal FC. Two wrongs won’t make a right

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